Gosford

Gosford is a city in the southern part of the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Understand

Gosford is the focal point of the New South Wales Central Coast. Aside from the town centre's urbane enticements - including the vibrant Ettalong Markets - the flip-side of Gosford is its pastoral tenor. Flora and fauna are both main attractions of Gosford. You can get close to snakes, kangaroos and other native wildlife at the Australian Reptile Park, and Mangrove Boardwalk to the west is a true delight of nature.

Get in

Many residents of Gosford commute to Sydney daily, hence transport links with Sydney are good. However, they are very crowded in peak times (evenings, 5pm - 7pm leaving Sydney) on weekdays as most of them are commuter oriented. The area is also a popular holiday spot, so travelling north from Sydney at the beginning of any New South Wales holiday period will be difficult.

By car

Gosford is less than one hour's drive north of Sydney's North Shore on the F3 freeway leaving Hornsby. There are a number of exits that will take you into the area: the major ones are the Woy Woy and Gosford exits.

Gosford is also about an hour's drive south of Newcastle on the F3 freeway.

By bus

If you are already in the Central Coast, you can get to Gosford by the private bus company, Busways [3]; this services all of the Central Coast. Buses are usually very clean, and some are air-conditioned. A Busways depot is in Gosford, where you can pick up a timetable. Alternatively, you can ask a bus driver for a timetable. Major bus stop have timetables on them, and it should be noted that public holiday bus services follow the Sunday timetable. When you see the bus coming, signal to the driver by looking at the driver and raising your hand and stand away from the road.

By train

Cityrail trains leave Sydney's Central, Strathfield, Epping and Hornsby stations half hourly for Gosford and Wyong during the day, and more frequently in peak commute hours. They stop at a number of stations in the Gosford area: the major two at which all trains stop are Woy Woy and Gosford.

Trains from Newcastle to Gosford depart hourly, and trains from Wyong half-hourly.

By boat

The Palm Beach Ferry [4] runs hourly from Palm Beach in Sydney's Northern Beaches during the day, ending at about 6pm. It travels to Wagstaffe in the south of the Gosford area in about 25 minutes, and to Ettalong in about 40 minutes.

See

• Gosford Information Centre - 200 Mann Street, Gosford - in Burns Park right across from the Railway station
• Rumbalara Reserve is a small nature reserve located just east of the CBD. Via the reserve, you can climb up to see glorious views of Brisbane Water.
• Central Coast Conservatorium of Music [5] - 39 Mann Street. The Conservatorium is located in what was once the Gosford Court House - which is one of the few historic sites remaining in the city centre. The Conservatorium hosts frequent music concerts.
• Gosford City Markets held on the 2nd Saturday of every month in Kibble Park.

Do

• The Australian Reptile Park [6] is one of the best wildlife parks in Australia and is 3km from Gosford in Somersby. This park is situated amongst bushland and attracts many tourists and locals. It has many Australian animals including crocodiles, snakes, wombats, Tasmanian devils, kangaroos and emus, which are not fenced! There are also daily crocodile and bird shows. To get there by public transport get a taxi from Gosford station. There is no longer any local bus service to the park. Some tour coaches operate.

• Sommersby Falls is just down the road from the Australian Reptile Park. It's a picturesque walk down into the valley. There are two falls - an uppper falls and a lower falls. Make sure you wear shoes as it can get slippery at times. Parking is available but will cost you $7 big ones. To get there, follow Sommersby Falls Rd or take a taxi as there is no public transport.

• The Australian Rainforest Sanctuary at the Forest of Tranquility [7] is a true rainforest in Northen Sydney suburbs, with true humid climate, nice walks, wallabies running around and rare birds occasionally showing up. $20/adult & $10/child.

• Glenworth Valley Outdoor Adventures, 69 Cooks Road, Peats Ridge (20min drive from Gosford), ☎ (02) 4375 1222, [1]. Glenworth Valley has many outdoor activities to participate in. Horse riding, kayaking, quad biking, and abseiling are the main activites, but others are offered. You can usually do up to two in a day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon.  edit

• Bluetonque Stadium, Dane Drive, [2]. Opposite the Central Coast Leagues Club and the home of the Central Coast Mariners and events often take place there.  edit

Buy

Whilst the actual centre of Gosford doesn't offer a lot of interesting shops, there are two large shopping centres nearby. Buses from Gosford and most areas of the Central Coast travel regularly (albeit not always so frequently) to Erina Fair, which contains many mid-range clothing shops, hairdressers, coffee shops, newsagents, department stores, shoe shops, fast food outlets, restaurants and bookshops. There is also a library, gym, cinema and ice rink on the grounds. A similar shopping centre is found at Tuggerah although it is smaller and has less facilities than at Erina Fair.

Eat

Gosford offers some variety for those staying in the centre or just passing through. During the day, a number of cafes are open for breakfast and lunch on Mann Street and William Street, including Pie Face and Gloria Jean's Coffee. Most cafes will serve decent quality coffee and food.

Of an evening, you can find several restaurants in the city centre, including:

• Hotel Gosford 1926 Brasserrie - [8] - Good quality, inexpensive pub meals
• Alexanders Town House - 73 Mann Street, Gosford - highly recommended on trip adviser for its service and food.
• Byblos Restaurant and Bar - [9] - 124 Donnison Street, overlooking Kibble Park - excellent Lebanese food, cocktails, wines and imported Middle Eastern Beers.
• Monti's Ashore - 65 Masons Parade - tasty and freshly prepared seafood right across from Brisbane Water

Drink

• The Central Coast Leagues Club, on Dane Drive, is the largest venue in the city centre and offers a sports bar, chinese restuarant, pokies and also a club on Saturday night.

If you are after a smaller, more intimate experience you could try

• Reviver [10] - 37a Mann Street Gosford (cnr Mann Street and Georgiana Tce) - a beautifully decked out cocktail bar which offers table service. The bar offers a wide range of cocktails, imported beers, wines and spirits.
• Byblos Restaurant and Bar - 124 Donnison Street - offers cocktails and imported Lebanese beers (along with great Lebanese Food) and a nice view over Kibble Park

Sleep

As in many populated coastal areas of Australia, there are many homeowners who rent their houses to holiday makers on a weekly basis. As a guide, a four bedroom house might rent for a short term price of $700-1,500 per week. Local real estate agents usually organise the holiday rentals.

Galaxy Motel - Part of Gosford RSL ☎ +61 2 4323 1711

If you are looking to stay in Gosford itself, the Hotel Gosford [11] offers serviceable and inexpensive rooms just opposite the Imperial Shopping Centre and the Railway station. ☎ +61 2 4324 1634. Booking in advance is highly recommended

Get out

• Gosford has very little to offer travellers, so getting out of Gosford is likely to be on the minds of those who find themselves in Gosford, luckily the Central Coast region offers some lovely beaches and coastal resorts, including Terrigal and The Entrance.
• Travel to Sydney's Northern Beaches on the Palm Beach ferry and go walking in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

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